1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a lamp-operating appliance that is provided for operating one or more light-sources and that exhibits a first interface unit via which external control commands are communicated to the lamp-operating appliance. Furthermore, the present invention relates to a process for operating a corresponding lamp-operating appliance.
2. Related Technology
In modern lighting systems, light fixtures frequently come into operation, the light effect of which can be changed in a manner depending on the wishes of a user of the lighting system. In a simple embodiment, there is, for example, the possibility to switch the light fixtures on and off and also to vary their brightness by remote control. In this connection, an idea that has recently gained acceptance, in particular, is to drive the light fixtures for the purpose of brightness control by means of digital commands.
This digital drive of light fixtures or of lamp-operating appliances assigned to the light fixtures for operating the light-sources has been facilitated, in particular, by the development of the so-called DALI (Digital Addressable Lighting Interface) standard. This is a digital standard in the field of light control, which in comparison with previous processes for driving light fixtures—for example, the known 1-10 volt interface—offers enhanced convenience for intelligent light control. The DALI standard represents a new interface definition which has been developed, in particular, for the purpose of driving electronic ballasts (EB) for operating gas-discharge lamps. Within the scope of this standard, the operation of EBs—or even of other lamp-operating appliances—can be carried out in digital form, in which connection there is the possibility, in particular, to drive lamp-operating appliances via addresses allocated to them individually or in groups and to adjust the light-sources assigned thereto in their brightness. Other standards (for example, DMX) for driving lamp-operating appliances are also known.
The DALI standard referred to previously was primarily developed in order to undertake a brightness control of the light-sources. Accordingly, a limited set of control commands is available which, in particular, relates to the brightness control of the light-sources. However, modern light fixtures have meanwhile also opened up the possibility of adjusting other parameters. For instance, light fixtures are known in which not only the total intensity of the radiated light can be influenced, but also the direction of radiation, the light distribution or the color of the emitted light. For example, a color control or color-temperature control is made possible in straightforward manner by the light fixture exhibiting several heterochromatic light-sources, in which case the light-sources can each be individually adjusted in their brightness, in order to obtain a mixed light in a desired hue.
A remote-controlled change of color of the light of individual light fixtures with the aid of the DALI command set is currently not readily possible, since a corresponding setting option was not initially provided in the development of the DALI standard. A color control could in fact be made possible by a specific address being assigned to each color, so that the individual colors can then be changed individually with appropriate correcting-value commands. However, this would have the result that an individual light fixture in a relatively large lighting system occupies several notional addresses, impairing the clarity of design when driving the light-sources. Furthermore, the known light-control systems only have a limited address space available. That is to say, only a certain number of light fixtures can be driven individually. If several addresses were to be allocated to the light fixtures that are variable in their color, in accordance with the bypass solution described above, this would result in a considerable diminution of the drivable light fixtures.
A further problem consists in the fact that the known operating systems for light-control installations are only suitable to a limited extent to be able to program light fixtures conveniently in which varying parameters are adjustable. Operation is often restricted to a simple retrieval of preprogrammed scenes or routines, for which reason the complex adjustment of modern lamps can only be undertaken with difficulty.